Safety first

Arsenal 0-0 Man United

Arsenal and Manchester United played out a tense and tight 0-0 draw last night in a match which frustrated more than entertained. With both sides coming into this game following disappointing results at the weekend, it was not surprising that their main concern was not to lose.

The Gunners in particular appeared to have suffered psychologically from their 5-1 drubbing at Anfield. During those horrendous opening 20 minutes, they had been punished almost every time they committed men forward and as a result, Arsenal were extremely cautious in their attacking approach last night. The transition from defence to attack was extremely slow, ponderous and sloppy. It wasn’t helped at all by Arteta either, who has recently tended to want an age on the ball. Therefore whenever Arsenal had an opportunity to hit United on the break, they simply allowed the visitors to regroup, get men behind the ball and the chance was lost.

With David Moyes selecting Carrick and Cleverly as two sitting midfielders, the Gunners somewhat played into their hands as Wenger’s midfield effectively consisted of five very similar players. The home side needed to stretch the game, but didn’t have the personnel to do so, with the likes of Cazorla and Ozil naturally drifting inside, into the congested middle of the park, making the Gunners attack extremely narrow. It is at times such as these that Arsenal really miss the pace of Theo Walcott. Had he been on the pitch last night he could have hugged the touchline and utilised his speed to stretch the United defence and attempt to get in behind them. Without the Englishman, the Gunners needed their midfield players to make forward runs beyond Giroud. Unfortunately, the Frenchman didn’t have one of his best games in an Arsenal shirt and struggled to hold the ball up, which in turn didn’t provide his midfield the opportunity to embark on committed forward runs.

Ozil, who has come in for intense criticism in the days following the Liverpool defeat, produced a much improved performance, but was also affected by the lack of movement from the Gunners attacking players. The German international’s supreme skill is being able to pick out the perfect pass, sliding the ball through the eye of a needle. However, in order for him to be at his most effective, he needs his teammates to make forward runs in the first place. Far too often last night Arsenal would reach the edge of the United penalty area and stand still, passing the ball square time and time again, before electing to cross the ball into the box with Giroud the only man in a red shirt to aim at.

Wenger needed to change the composition of his midfield, but frustratingly failed to do so effectively. He made the right decision to bring on Oxlade-Chamberlain, but deployed him in central midfield rather than on the wing. Surely, with the game so tight and narrow, the manager could have moved Cazorla into the middle and Oxlade-Chamberlain out wide in an attempt to utilise the Englishman’s pace. Podolski would also have been an interesting option in this area, offering support for Giroud with late runs into the box. Yet while Wenger asked Podolski to warm up, it became clear as the clock ticked on that the German was not going to feature in this game and with about 10 minutes of the match left, Podolski even stopped bothering to warm up, simply standing on the touch line, watching the game.

Ultimately a draw, when taken into perspective, was not such a bad result. After all, it leaves the Gunners still in second place, only one point behind leaders Chelsea, with at least some of their confidence restored after Saturday’s debacle. From that perspective, if they can kick on once more, Arsenal’s title challenge is still well and truly on, but there can be no doubt that this was a missed opportunity. United were there for the taking but the home side let them off the hook.

Of course United will point to the fact they arguably had the two best chances of the match, which Van Persie squandered on both occasions. The first came in the opening minutes after the Dutchman had robbed Arteta of possession and raced through on goal. It seemed a mere formality, but Van Persie appeared to slip as his took his shot and Szczesny was able to save comfortably. The Arsenal number one would later be forced into a stunning and crucial save in the dying minutes as the Gunners lost possession in midfield once again before Rooney teed up Van Persie to head home. Fortunately, Szczesny was able to tip the ball onto the crossbar and the danger was cleared.

Yet Arsenal also had several chances to open the scoring and potentially win the game. In the first half, Giroud failed to hit the target with a free header, while Gibbs was unfortunate to see his brave headed effort saved by De Gea. As the Gunners ramped up the pressure after the halftime break, Koscielny’s header was cleared off the line by Valencia, Giroud was inches away from making contact with Sagna’s cross, which certainly would have resulted in a goal and Cazorla forced De Gea into a smart save at his near post.

At the end of the game neither side could really argue that a draw was not a fair result. The Arsenal players should at least have restored confidence which may provide them with a platform from which to build and hopefully go on another fine run of form. This has now become crucial as the sides below Arsenal, such as Liverpool and Tottenham, are gaining momentum and rapidly closing the gap between themselves and the Gunners. The top of the table is becoming exceptionally tight and looks set to go right down to the wire.